Mr Fluffy
by barsonaddict
Summary: Rafael wants to get Noah a dog for his birthday. Olivia thinks he's lost his mind.


**_A/N: Future fic with lots of squabbly Barson! Barba is no longer with SVU, he's the Executive ADA in Manhattan._**

 ** _Written for the Secret Santa Exchange at thebarsondaily Tumblr, for roseinutopia_**

* * *

"Liv, I just think it'll be good for him- teach him some responsibility!" Rafael Barba is putting forth a solid argument for his idea of what to get Noah for his 7th birthday.

"No, it'll teach me that I need to put my foot down with my husband. Rafi, he can't take a dog outside at 6am by himself! That means one of us has to take him AND the dog, and you know what it's like in the morning," despite the many cute puppy pictures and ads from a local shelter he's been texting her all week, she just can't see them doing this.

Rafael sighs into the phone. "I'm not being very persuasive, am I?"

"Well, you are, but there's just no way it's going to work. Maybe if we had a yard, but neither of us wants to leave Manhattan so that's not likely to happen anytime soon," sometimes it sucks being the voice of reason. Liv would love to see the look of joy in Noah's face when he realized he'd be getting a puppy. But it just would not be fair, to any of them.

"Fine," Rafael is pouting now, she doesn't need to see him to know this.

Trying to cheer him up, "Why don't you think of another pet, something that stays indoors all the time?"

"Maybe. Maybe we should just get him socks and underwear. Prepare him for adulthood."

"Don't pout, baby. It's not fitting for a man of your stature."

"I'm not pouting."

"Mmhmm. I gotta go, Carisi's here to go over the witness statements."

"Okay, I'll see you tonight. Noah and I are cooking. We'll wait for you so let me know if you're late leaving."

"I will, love you."

"You too."

Barba hangs up as he approaches the schoolyard of PS 133, where Noah Benson-Barba spends his days as a second grader.

He doesn't usually get to pick his son up from school, but when his schedule permits, he takes advantage. Today they are going to hit the market on the way home and make one of his childhood favorites- his abuelita's specialty.

Barba is proud of his Cuban heritage and loves sharing it with his son. Noah knows that he is adopted and is happy to partake in these lessons, especially when they involve food.

Rafael, clad in his usual three piece suit feels out of place in the mob of nannies and stay at home moms in their yoga pants, most of them pushing strollers.

When the bell rings and the kids flood out into the fenced courtyard he cranes his neck in search of his six year old.

He spots him a few minutes later, running with another boy toward the jungle gym, Star Wars book bag bouncing on his back.

"Noah!" He calls out to his son, waving to attract his attention.

"Papì!" A big smile breaks out on the child's face as he abruptly changes course and heads for the gate.

Once Barba gets to the front of the check out line, and flashes his id for the duty teacher, he is finally able to get a hug from his kid.

"Hey Buddy! I missed you!" Barba breathes into Noah's hair, giving him another squeeze and a kiss before releasing him.

"Papì..." Noah drags out the word into a chastisement.

"I know, I know. But I haven't seen you since yesterday morning and I missed you! I don't care if all your friends are watching, I'm gonna hug you. You should be used to that by now," father reminds son with a smile, relieving the boy of his bag and shouldering it.

Noah automatically grabs Barba's hand as they set off down the street.

"Why are you picking me up today? Is Mom hurt?" Noah's curiosity quickly turns to fear, he can't remember the last time his father picked him up at school.

Noah goes to the after school program Monday-Thursday, and Liv picks him up Fridays. If she gets called in or has to work a full day then Lucia Barba is usually the one to take charge of her grandson for a few hours.

"No, buddy. Mamí's fine. It's only Wednesday- her day's Friday, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Are you sure? Caden said police have a dangerous job but not as dangerous as firemen like his dad. He says his dad's the bravest in New York. And I told him that my mom is even braver and he said no way cause boys are braver than girls but I said he's wrong cause mommy is definitely braver than his dad and girls and boys are both brave and then he said girls are dumb and I said-"

"Noah. Take a breath." He waits a moment until Noah has calmed down.

"Firefighters and police officers are all brave- they have to be to do their jobs. And you are right, girls and boys can both be brave; I'm glad to hear you sticking up for girls. Yes I'm sure Mamì is fine, I was just on the phone with her ten minutes ago."

"So why are you here?"

"I got the afternoon off and wanted to spend it with you."

"Can we go to the ice cream store?"

Is Noah's immediate response.

Rafael sighs, "No, not today. But we are going to the store to get groceries, we can get stuff for sundaes..."

"Yes!" Noah pumps his fist in victory.

"So, your birthday is coming up soon...what do you think you'd like to have?"

"A phone! An iPad! A computer!"

Rafael is not impressed. "Really? You have an iPad (but it's OLD, Papì), and you're going to be seven- too young for a phone."

"A computer then! I have homework, Papì, I'm in SECOND GRADE now."

"You can use the computer in the office if you need it for homework. Isn't there anything without a screen you want?"

"An Xbox! Uncle Fin says he's getting me my own controller and I'll need to practice for our gamer nights when you and Mom go on dates," the last word is said as if describing something truly disgusting.

Rafael laughs, "Hmm. That basically has a screen too. Try and think of something else, alright? And Abuelita wants to know what you want to do with her on your sleepover at her place."

"Tonight?!"

"Noah- it's a school night. We're talking about your birthday, remember?"

"Right, Papì. I know. Um, I'll think about it."

"Okay. We're here, let's get our groceries and we can finish this discussion later."

The trip inside the market is full of light hearted chatter and funny faces.

As they make their way home, Rafael takes a moment to appreciate the way he is feeling: full of life, love for his family, and a bit of awe that just five years ago he was pining over Liv and didn't foresee what his life would be like.

Noah's chattering shakes him from his reverie just as they approach their third floor condo. His son apparently hasn't noticed his father's lack of participation in their conversation- a running monologue is nothing new for the gregarious almost-seven year old.

"And then Jaden said he's going to have a mini golf party, but I don't know if it's glow in the dark mini golf. Regular is so boring. Aidan had his party at the movie theater, remember? That was so cool. I got to have 7Up! So Mom said I get to pick what party I want but I don't know what to pick! What do you want to do for your birthday, Papì?"

"I don't know, mijo. You're right, it is a big decision. I think going out for a special dinner with you and Mamì is my favourite. But last year I had to work and you brought me cupcakes and balloons to the office- that was fun."

"Yeah, Carmen liked the giant card I made you," Noah reminds him, cheeks getting red.

Barba's assistant, Carmen, is one of Noah's favourite people. He has a sweet but major crush, and whenever he visits his dad at the office, never fails to charm a lollipop or some other sweet from his friend.

"Go put your backpack away, wash your hands and meet me in the kitchen; once we get dinner on, we can play a board game or something."

"I get to pick!" Noah yells from somewhere in the back of the condo.

"Of course, my prince," Barba mutters under his breath, quickly organizing the groceries and getting the kitchen prepped.

-/-

When Olivia walks through the door just after six, the apartment smells heavenly and is quiet.

She sheds her coat, bag and shoes by the door and sets off to find her boys. The kitchen and family rooms are empty, and as she makes her way to the master bedroom at the back of the apartment, she hears soft voices coming from Noah's bedroom.

She continues to her bedroom to lock up her gun and change out of her work clothes then goes to Noah's room to see what the boys are up to.

Silently she opens the door and peeks her head in, trying to stay undetected. She has to work hard to stifle the laughs threatening to burst at the sight inside.

Rafael Barba, Executive ADA for the borough of Manhattan, is not recognizable. No, right now he is just Noah's Papì. Barefoot, in sweatpants and a sleeveless undershirt, he and Noah are dressed alike and have made themselves a quite impressive blanket fort, inside of which they are reading comic books by flashlight.

The light from the hallway alerts the boys to her presence, so she chuckles lightly and goes in to say hello.

"Hi Sweetheart, did you and Papì have a fun afternoon?" She asks Noah, crawling into the fort and giving her son a kiss then settling on top of her husband; partly due to lack of space, mostly because she wanted to be close to him.

"Yeah, it was awesome, Mom! We made dinner and I got to use the sharp knife! And we got ice cream and sprinkles and Papì said he's gonna make the fudge sauce that's your favourite 'cause we're gonna have sundaes for dessert!" Noah is practically vibrating he is so excited.

Liv chuckles, "Fudge sauce, huh? Someone is trying to make me happy," she says with a smile, giving Rafael a kiss, still stretched out along his body.

"Mmm, stay still," he admonishes in a whisper, "save that for later."

"Gross, Mom, I'm right here!"

"I know, buddy. I always give your dad a kiss when I get home. Someday you'll think we're cute," Liv says.

"No way. Can we eat now 'cause Mom's home and I'm starving!" Noah has abandoned his comic and crawls out of the fort with his flashlight.

"Sure, Noah. Go wash up and we'll be right there. Remember the stove is on!" Rafael instructs his son while rolling his wife under him to give her a taste of her own medicine.

"Mmmm," she moans, "don't start something you don't intend to finish, Counselor."

Between kisses he answers, "Oh, I fully intend to finish, Lieutenant. Meet me across the hall once the little one is asleep and I will rock. Your. World."

Pulling away, Liv laughs at him. "I'm gonna hold you to that. You might want to make a double batch of that fudge sauce."

Rafael groans loudly. "You're going to kill me, Liv. Come on, I'm hungry."

He moves off of her and crawls out of the fort.

"Mmm, me too," Liv replies with a smirk, blatantly checking him out when he looks back at her.

"Mind out of the gutter, Hermosa. Just for a couple hours," he says, reaching for her hand.

Later that night, after a thoroughly satisfying dinner, sundaes, and dessert, Rafael is in the shower rinsing the remnants of fudge sauce stickiness off his body while Liv changes their sheets.

"So did you have any other ideas for Noah's present?" Liv questions when she hears the shower turn off.

"Not really. He asked for a phone, iPad, computer, or an Xbox. When did he turn into a teenager?" Rafael grumbles, grabbing the dirty sheets and moving to throw them in the laundry hamper when Olivia stops him.

"Don't, I'm going to throw those in the washer now, otherwise the fudge stains will never come out," she explains.

"Totally worth it. I'll buy new ones," Rafael smirks.

"Agreed," Liv says with a smirk of her own, and takes the bundle down the hall while her husband moves about the apartment, checking locks and turning off lights.

They meet in Noah's room, giving him one last kiss and fixing the blankets- the boy has somehow managed to stay asleep while pushing them, and his pillow and stuffed animals, onto the floor.

As they go back into their room and get settled into bed, Liv gets reflective.

"It's hard to believe this wasn't always my life, you know? Superheroes and homework, grossing out our kid; ten years ago I was able to go across the country on a day's notice to be undercover for weeks, and didn't really have anyone to miss me or anything. This- you and Noah are all I've ever wanted. Maybe we could get a dog; yes it would be a lot of work, but..."

Rafael interjects, "No, Liv, you were right. We're gone all day, and dogs need so much time and space that we don't really have. We'll figure something out, and he'll have the best seventh birthday ever."

She snuggles into him, running her hand up and down his ribcage. "I just want him to be happy, you know? Have as good of a childhood as possible."

"That's why you're such a good mom. But remember, buying him a puppy isn't going to make or break his childhood. I truly believe he is happy- and I know we will do everything we can to keep it that way."

He lets out a breath and continues quietly, "Ten years ago I was working in Brooklyn. Putting in eighty, ninety hour weeks, going on a fancy trip twice a year with my friends from Harvard. I thought I was happy, but now I realize I didn't really know what that was.

Being able to call you my wife, and Noah my son, knowing we share a safe home and you'll be here no matter what- I can't describe what that has done for my soul.

I never saw loving marriages growing up- I hope Noah is always grossed out by us."

"Marriage goal: gross out your kid. Got it," she teases with a smile.

"I'm glad his birthday is on the weekend this year, it's always so rushed in the evenings and I really want him to have a special day."

"Mmm," Liv agrees, "at least he finally made a decision about his party. I'll make some calls tomorrow so we can send the invites asap. It's already late notice."

"Laser tag- I'm so gonna kick your ass."

"Excuse me? Do you remember what I do for a living? When was the last time you shot anything?"

"When was the last time YOU shot anything, Liv?" he asks on a laugh.

"Last week! You know I go to the range regularly. Just because I'm not in the field as much doesn't mean I can get out of practice!" She is slightly offended that he thinks he could beat her, but mostly takes offense at the insinuation that she isn't a good shot.

"Laser tag is not like shooting on the range with a handgun, Liv," he says, patronizingly.

"Yes, I know that, Counselor," she replies, now fully annoyed, and rolls away from him, curling on her side.

"Mi amor, mi vida, mi sol (my love, my life, my sun)," he says quietly, rolling after her and snuggling up to her back. "I'm sorry, I'm being an asshole."

"Not going to argue with you," she returns grumpily, but doesn't push him away and allows him to lace his fingers through hers.

Rafael laughs lightly and says,"I wouldn't expect you to. And I don't expect you to go down easily in laser tag, but I'm confident I will be the victor. In laser tag circles, I have a reputation."

He's a little too smug about this, and Olivia turns onto her back so she can look at his face.

"There are laser tag circles?" she questions, incredulous.

"Oh, yes, mi amor. There are still things you don't know about me. One of them is my prowess in the laser tag arena."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"You will, at Noah's party."

She is silent for a moment, mind racing. He's only ever this confident when he has the goods to deliver. "How the hell did you get so good at laser tag?"

He laughs, leaning over to give her a kiss, hoping he's been forgiven.

"It might have something to do with Eddie. Actually it has everything to do with Eddie- we took the boys there practically every week last year."

Rafael volunteers as a mentor/big brother in a program run out of his old neighborhood's community center. He's always tried to give back to the community and as a bonus he gets to see his longtime friend regularly.

"Hmm. I forgot about that. Well, I still think you're going to have quite the battle on your hands, mister."

"I would expect nothing less, my love."

This time when he gives her a kiss she deepens it, and even though they finished their last round of lovemaking not long before, when Liv feels him hard against her hip she pulls back and says, "Three times in one night, Raf? You better watch out or I'll think it's my birthday."

Rafael lifts his head from where he is currently trailing kisses down her neck toward her chest and says, voice low from arousal, "Happy Birthday, Baby."

Olivia lets out a laugh that quickly turns into a moan when his tongue circles her nipple.

"Mmm..." Is all she can manage, all senses under attack from her husband.

-/-

It's seven o'clock when Rafael emerges from the bathroom ready for work to find his wife and son snuggled up together in the middle of their king size bed.

Olivia has a cup of coffee in one hand and her other arm wrapped around Noah- their collective attention tuned to the iPad on his lap.

All of a sudden they both burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

Noah is laughing too hard to answer, and all Olivia can force out between giggles is, "Cats!"

It hits him then, all of a sudden. A cat! Olivia said they needed a pet that stayed inside all the time- a cat would be perfect. They're snuggly and loving but self-sufficient enough to be left alone during the day when their family would be at work and school.

Noah breaks him out of his thoughts when he scrambles out of the bed and runs by him, calling, "Buenos dias Papì!"

Rafael raises his eyebrows in his wife's direction. She shrugs. "He's always got energy like this first thing in the morning. It's like you after your second cup of coffee."

He moves over to her side of the bed and holds out his hand to take her now empty mug, places it on the side table, and then pulls her up out of bed and into his arms. He kisses her gently, hands lightly running up and down her back.

When they part he keeps his arms around her back, holding her close.

"Mmm...love you," she whispers.

"Love you too. I'm going to go feed our boy."

She chuckles. "Good luck. He said something about mixing toast and Cheerios- not sure how that's going to work."

He squeezes her one last time, then steps back, amazed that after all this time- five years of being together, and over three married- that he still has such a need for her.

She's practically glowing, and if Noah wasn't here they would definitely be late for work this morning.

She sees the look on his face and can read him like a book. "I know. But we are responsible adults and parents and can control ourselves." She starts backing away toward the ensuite and throws him a smirk. "At least I can," she says and unties her robe, dropping it outside the bathroom and heading through the doorway, leaving the door open to give him a view of her starting the shower and removing the rest of her clothes.

He practically whimpers when she winks at him then steps behind the curtain. He closes his eyes, takes a few deep breaths, and mentally calculates the time until Noah goes to sleep tonight.

The sound of their son rummaging in the kitchen cupboards breaks him out of his stupor, and he quickly goes to help him out.

-/-

It was one of those rare quiet days around the precinct. Everyone was able to catch up on paperwork, and Olivia found herself with enough free time that she decided to go out for lunch.

After checking in with the rest of the squad she steps out of the One Six, turning in the direction of Hogan Place. There's no one she'd rather spend a long lunch with than her husband. She doesn't take more than a few steps down the sidewalk when she collides with an expensive suit.

"Shit! I'm sorry!" They apologize in unison.

The person grabs her arms to steady her- she really should stop wearing heels to work- and when she looks up at them she starts laughing.

"I was just on my way to your office," she smiles.

Barba is smiling as well. "Great minds. Walk with me? There's somewhere I want to take you. If you can manage it in those shoes," he adds as a smarmy afterthought.

She lightly smacks his chest. "Stop. You ran into me just as much as I ran into you."

"Too true, mi amor."

A few minutes later they were sitting in the back of an Uber. Barba was uncharacteristically nervous that Olivia wouldn't be as supportive of his feline idea as he'd initially thought.

Liv squeezed her husband's hand reassuringly. "As long as you're not taking me to a divorce lawyer I'm sure it'll be fine, whatever it is."

He smiled back. "Definitely not a divorce lawyer." He took a deep, steadying breath. "You were right about the dog thing. We're not home enough, it wouldn't be fair to any of us including the dog. And that wouldn't teach Noah anything except maybe putting his selfish desires ahead of common sense. But, I think I found a solution that still gets us something cute and cuddly and can foster some responsibility in our son."

"Liv, we have an appointment to meet someone," he finished dramatically as they pulled up in front of the animal shelter.

She looked out the window to see where they were: Midtown Animal Shelter. She looked back at Barba and raised one eyebrow.

-/-

"His name is Mr Fluffy."

Olivia laughed out loud until she noticed that neither the shelter worker nor her husband joined her. "His name is really Mr Fluffy?"

Barba gave her a look then addressed the shelter worker. "We are looking for a family pet that we can leave home while my wife and I are at work and our son is at school. I was reading some of the profiles on your website and Mr Fluffy," he ignored the slight snort from Olivia, "seems like he would be a good fit for us."

Liv smiled innocently and then crouched down next to the feline in question, leaving Rafael to discuss the details. She poked her fingers through the latticework keeping the cat in its enclosure.

"Hey there mister," she said softly. "You look like you're a pretty friendly guy," she continued when the cat approached her immediately, rubbing its head against her fingers encouraging her to scratch. "Do you want to come home with us? Not today though. Noah's birthday isn't until next week and we don't have anything ready for you yet. But as long as we can adjust your name a little I think we'll get along just fine."

Mr Fluffy seemed to agree, rotating his head from side to side in an effort to maximize the scratches from this kind stranger. Olivia smiled softly, pulling out her phone to snap a picture. She played idly with the cat for a few minutes until Barba joined her on the floor.

"So...what's the deal?"

Barba smiled and took over petting duty. "The adoption fees are very reasonable, we have to fill out an information package, and we can bring Noah here to meet Mr Fluffy- don't laugh, he's had the same name for five years and he didn't choose it himself." He sighs at his wife who looks appropriately abashed. "As I was saying. We can bring Noah here for them to get acquainted if we want, as many times as we want before we take him home. Or we can do everything ourselves and surprise Noah at home. Once we submit our paperwork there's a 48 hour waiting period."

They both gave Mr Fluffy one last scratch on the forehead and stood up. Barba took Liv's hand and started for the doorway to the main reception area.

Halfway down the hallway he stopped and asked, "Well? What do you think?"

Liv smiled at his hesitance. She leaned in and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "You did good, Papí. Noah is going to love his present and have a seventh birthday to remember. Fluffernutter is going to fit right in with us."

Barba's cheeks pinked at the praise. He continued down the hallway, shaking his head. "In what way is Fluffernutter a better name than Mr Fluffy?"

"I don't know. It just is. Maybe something else. Just Fluffy? Fluffball? Mr F?"

"Let's just let Noah decide," he scoffed, rolling his eyes at the continued suggestions from Liv.

She had every intention of having Noah make the final decision but that wouldn't stop her from texting Rafael potential monikers whenever they popped into her head.

-/-

In the end they decided to introduce Noah and Mr Fluffy slowly, so after work and school for the next week the Benson-Barbas went to the shelter every day to get acquainted with their new family member.

The adoption was finalized on Noah's birthday, so they celebrated with two cakes: chocolate for humans and chicken for cats.

Noah didn't want to confuse the cat by changing his name after such a long time, so officially Mr Fluffy became Mr Fluffy Benson-Barba. He generally was called 'Fluffs', 'Fluffy' or 'that furball' (one time Rafael forgot to close his closet door and the cat rubbed against all of his suits).

As they tucked Noah into bed that night Mr Fluffy was right there, curled up next to his "brother".

"Thank you Mamí, thank you Papí," Noah said sleepily. "This was the best birthday ever."

Rafael and Liv exchanged triumphant smiles then kissed their son goodnight. "Happy Birthday baby," Olivia whispered, running her fingers through his thick hair.

Mr Fluffy meowed softly.

"Goodnight Fluff-Puff."

Barba rolled his eyes at her still ever-changing names for the cat. "Yes, goodnight Mr Fluffy. Take good care of our boy."


End file.
